Live! Face poll confidently: Sonia to Cong MPs

Congress President Sonia Gandhi today asked party MPs to go to the Lok Sabha polls with confidence as she hosted a dinner for them in New Delhi.

Sources said at least 100 MPs talked to Gandhi during the dinner hosted at Gandhi's official residence at 10, Janpath.

They were served both South Indian and North Indian delicacies.

Due to hectic engagements with Telangana issue, Gandhi was unable to have an interaction with party MPs as there was no valedictory dinner meeting of the parliamentary party during the just-concluded winter session of parliament, the last of the 15th Lok Sabha.

It was, therefore, a kind of farewell meeting with Lok Sabha MPs as Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi walked up to the dinner tables of MPs and chatted with them.

Most of the Union Ministers, including P Chidambaram, Sushilkumar Shinde, G K Vasan and Kamal Nath were present.

Party MP Suresh Kalmadi, Renuka Chowdhary, Sanjay Nirupam, senior leader Ajit Jogi and several other party office bearers were also present.

Chowdhary said Gandhi asked MPs to be battle ready for the next Lok Sabha polls and fight the election with confidence.

During the informal discussions, Gandhi also told some MPs not to be disheartened.

One of the prime accused in the broad daylight heist, in which Rs 7.69 crore were looted in south Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area on January 28, was arrested today after a brief chase and a exchange of fire in Outer Delhi's Sultanpuri area.

According to police, Pradeep Machhender was nabbed while two of his associates managed to flee.

"We had received a tip-off that Pradeep would be coming to Sultanpuri along with two of his associates, identified as Amit and Arjun, to meet his contact in a car, following which a trap was laid.

"When the vehicle was spotted, it was signaled to stop but instead of stopping, the car sped away while its occupants opened fire at us. We chased the car and shot at its tyres and deflated them," said a police official.

The police team then apprehended Pradeep although the other occupants Amit and Arjun managed to flee. The driver of the car, who claims that his car was hired by the accused and did not know them, has also been taken into custody.

Police have recovered a pistol and some cash from the vehicle.

Machhender was the key henchman who had carried out the loot in which a Honda City was hijacked along with Rs 7.69 crore from south Delhi's upscale Lajpat Nagar area on January 28.

"The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are the same. The Congress could not win the elections so it contested through its proxy party, AAP, to stop BJP from coming to power in Delhi, but they have been exposed and this will not be repeated again," Naqvi said at a press conference.

"The AAP follows hit and run policy. In every two hours, they pose a new question at the behest of Congress... I would say that it is a bakwas mandali (nonsense group), so there is no need to react to them," he said.

Congress chief in the state and Union minister Sachin Pilot said as per the Congress' district units survey, there were more farmers who were eligible for the compensation, which the Vasundhara Raje government had neglected.

21:32MNS aligning with NDA? No problem, says RPI: Republican Party of India chief Ramdas Athawale, who had so far opposed making MNS a partner of the Shiv Sena-BJP led alliance in Maharashtra, today said he would welcome the Raj Thackeray-led party.

RPI is a member of the Shiv Sena-BJP led alliance of five opposition parties in the state, called Maha-yuti.

21:31Kalyan Singh made BJP vice president : Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, who rejoined the BJP on Sunday, was today appointed as its national vice president, marking his rehabilitation in the party.

BJP President Rajnath Singh announced the appointment of Kalyan Singh as the party's vice president with immediate effect.

The party president had welcomed the former UP CM back in the party at the Lucknow rally addressed by Narendra Modi and announced that an important responsibility would be given to him in the BJP soon.

She accused the Congress of "plundering" the nation in the last ten years and appealed to the people to throw it out in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

"The Congress-led government at the Centre has plundered the country in the last ten years. This anti-people Congress rule should be removed. I am sure that people are against the Congress returning to power," the AIADMK supremo said.

Addressing a press conference today, he said that the UPA government would take appropriate fiscal measures, including tax incentives to the successor states, in order to promote industrialisation and economic growth in both the states.

"Incentives would be given only to new investors," he said.

"For purposes of central assistance, a special category status would be extended to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh comprising 13 districts, including the four districts of Rayalaseema as well as the three districts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh for a period of five years," he said.

"In view of varying reports in certain sections of media regarding the arrest of an individual who is a resident of Arwal, Bihar, the NIA clarifies that in pursuance of an on-going investigation, the aforementioned subject was called for questioning under the prescribed provisions of law and has not been arrested as mentioned," NIA said in a statement.

20:37Corruption and inflation major issues, says Kejriwal : AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal today said that corruption and inflation are the two major issues facing the country ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and only his party is serious enough to eradicate these problems.

Speaking to his supporters at a roadshow in Firozabad and Agra, Kejriwal said that his party will strive to eradicate corruption and inflation.

"This in an opportunity to eradicate corruption and inflation and only the Aam Aadmi Party can do this. So ensure that you vote for the broom this time," said Kejriwal.

Earlier in the day, when reports of the meeting emerged, city BJP chief Ashish Shelar denied them on twitter.

However, a source in the BJP, close to Gadkari, said the meeting did take place.

"Yes, Gadkari met Raj Thackeray at the Four Seasons hotel in Worli. They had a lunch together. As the two are friends,they discussed various things, including the current political situation," said the source.

19:44Modi Raj will be like 'Ram Rajya': BJP: The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections will be fought on the issue of nation-building and not on questions related to mandir and masjid, BJP Vice-President MukhtarAbbas Naqvi said today, even as he equated "Modi Raj" with 'Ram Rajya'.

"With secularism, we focus on good governance and Modi Raj will be like Ram Rajya," Naqvi said.

Naqvi said that the BJP would take part in the Parliamentary contest on the plank of nation building.

19:42Congress downplays Justice Thomas' decision: The Congress today put on a brave face about former Supreme Court Judge K T Thomas turning down the offer to head the Lokpal search committee, days after jurist Fali Nariman opted out of panel.

"Where is the question of the government being embarrassed? I do not find any head or tail of this question. It is a statutory body. Each position on this has to be fulfilled," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

"Giving or not giving consent cannot be linked to government. These are private decisions. People can say yes or no for many reasons. How you can blame the government for this," he said.

The missile tests have clearly been timed to coincide with annual South Korea-US military exercises which kicked off a week ago and run until mid-April.

18:56Jiah was killed: Mom moves HC again for SIT probe: Rabia Khan, mother of late actor Jiah Khan, has moved the Bombay High Court once again alleging that her daughter was murdered and had not committed suicide and sought transfer of probe to a Special Investigating Team.

The petition would come up for hearing in due course, her lawyer Dinesh Tiwari said. In October 2013, Rabia had filed a petition seeking CBI probe but did not press for it as the High Court had asked police to record her statement and probe as if it was a case of murder.

The police had probed on these lines and filed a chargesheet saying it was a suicide case and charged actor Suraj Pancholi, Jiah's boyfriend, for abettment of suicide.

"We are a country of 128 crore people and there may be 128 crore views. This is the maturity of a democracy. For a person making such a speech, it may not be a hate speech," said the judges who heard the case.

Their verdict was based on a Public Interest Litigation or PIL which said the top court should instruct the Election Commission to stop politicians from making hate speeches and "flash promises" designed to influence voters.

"Let all shades of opinion come before the public. Let them decide," said the Supreme Court judges.

18:21Centre summons Andhra governor to Delhi: The Centre has summoned Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narasimhan to New Delhi tomorrow to discuss the conduct of the Lok Sabha polls and to get first-hand information of the law and order situation in the state.

Governor Narasimhan is expected to make a courtesy call to President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Union Minsters AK Antony, P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde. The governor will also have a one-one-one with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi

National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon has said that there be violence in the Telangana region, which the centre is keen to resolve. Menon stated this on board the Air India One on his way to Myanmar

Shinde is believed to be upset with Menon's remarks.

18:00Petrol stations go on indefinite strike in Andhra Pradesh: Fuel station owners in Andhra Pradesh went on an indefinite strike and shut their operations in protest on Monday against Legal Metrology Department raids, even as commuters face travel chaos with vehicles trapped in a gridlock. The department on March 01 had raided fuel stations to check the usage of dispensing pumps that lacked mandatory approval.

17:58Will this hug make up for all the pain? : That's veteran Congress politician ND Tiwari hugging Rohit Shekhar after accepting him as his son. That of course, came after a six-year legal battle that involved emotional arguments and a DNA test. It's also the first public acknowledgement Mr Tiwari has made of his relationship with Shekhar's mother Ujjwala Sharma.

In a written reply to a question in the Legislative Assembly, minister of State for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Aijaz Ahmed Khan said only one Kashmiri migrant family had returned to the Valley since 2009.

He said so far 1446 migrant youths had joined various departments under the Prime Minister's Employment Package in the Valley.

Besides, 22 junior engineers and five draftsmen were appointed during January this year, the minister said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board (JKSSB) had started the process of filling the remaining posts, he said.

Read: 24 years on, nothing has changed for the exiled Kashmiri Pandits

17:06Jodhpur Is an oasis in the middle of the mad rush of India: As the capital of Marwar, which means, the fortress was once the home of the maharajahs of Jodhpur, but is now a well preserved museum that provides an excellent introduction to life under the Rajputs, who ruled the region until India's independence in the 20th century.

16:25 The South African athlete, who allegedly shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door in his home on 14 February 2013, is said to be looking more composed than at last year's hearings, where he broke down in tears.

Prosecutors are seeking to prove that Pistorius committed pre-meditated murder, but the paralympian claims he mistook his girlfriend for a dangerous intruder.

16:22Oscar Pistorius pleads NOT guilty to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp: Oscar Pistorius pleads not guilty to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp and for the possession of firerams. With no eyewitnesses other than Pistorius himself to the shooting of Steenkamp, experts say the case will be decided by forensic evidence and its interpretation by each side.

16:17Subrata Roy heads to Delhi: Sahara chief Subrata Roy was whisked away in a car at 3 pm today from the forest guest house where he was lodged after his arrest on Friday. Media was kept waiting at the main gate, while Roy was taken to Lucknow police escorted him to Delhi. SP Habibul Hasan said he will be taken to Delhi with a stopover in Agra. -- Sharat Pradhan

16:02Manmohan Singh arrives in Myanmar for BIMSTEC summit:
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived in Myanmar today to attend the third Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). In a statement before his departure for the Myanmarese capital, Nay Pyi-Taw, Dr. Singh said: "BIMSTEC lies at the crossroads between SAARC and ASEAN, drawing its energy from the natural convergence of the countries around the Bay of Bengal. Connectivity and sub-regional cooperation in trade and investment, energy, climate, tourism, agriculture and other areas provide the spark for the growth engine in our region,' he said.

"How will they (Muslims) not vote for Modi '" otherwise, wouldn't they be burnt with Tezaab (acid). Where will they go then? If they have to live in Gujarat they will have to vote in favour of Modi,' Khan said. "He (Modi) will turn the whole country into Gujarat,' Khan said.

15:43Head of Lokpal search committee quits: In a major embarrassment for the government, the man heading the search for the nine members of the Lokpal or national anti-corruption ombudsman has withdrawn from the committee he chaired.

In a letter to the Prime Minister's Office, Justice KT Thomas has withdrawn his consent to head the panel, which is meant to have eight members.

Last week, noted jurist Fali Nariman refused the government's invite to be a part of the committee. He said that he believes the selection process is flawed and unlikely to find the most deserving candidates. Read more

15:32UP police take Subrata Roy to Agra: Sahara chief Subrata Roy leaves for Agra with UP police team. On Friday, Chief Judicial Magistrate Anand
Kumar Yadav directed the UP police to keep Roy in custody till 2 pm on
March 4 and ensure that he is by then produced before the Supreme Court
which had issued non-bailable warrant against him two days ago for his
failure to appear before it in a case of non-refund of Rs 20,000 crore
to investors.

15:17AAP: Ideals without ideas :
In an earlier article I argued that the Aam Aadmi Party was one among the many attempts, since Independence, to found a new political party.

All of them changed our politics to varying degrees -- whether for less government control over the economy, favouring other backward castes, against specific issues of corruption.

But they had economic ideologies. The Swatantra party wanted more freedom to enterprise. Jayaprakash Narayan was a socialist and in power, his ideology would be for more State control and social welfare schemes.

The Janata Party was a hotch-potch and tried to pander to its different components. V.P. Singh was a believer in fiscal balance, but was not in power long enough to do much. Read

15:12Wary of President, cabinet retreats: The Union cabinet tonight backed off a plan to promulgate a slew of ordinances after the President expressed reservations and some senior ministers questioned the sagacity of the scramble that had the support of Rahul Gandhi. Read

15:09Ukraine mobilizes army after Putin's 'declaration of war': Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War.

"This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in English. Yatseniuk heads a pro-Western government that took power in the former Soviet republic when its Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, was ousted last week.

Putin secured permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine and told US President Barack Obama he had the right to defend Russian interests and nationals, spurning Western pleas not to intervene.

Financial markets reacted to the escalating tensions when trading opened in Asia on Monday, with oil and wheat futures jumping and stock indexes falling.

14:51Militants kill one cop, injure another in J-K: Rediff.com's Mukhtar Ahmad reporting from Srinagar says one policeman has been killed and one injured by an attack by militants in the Pulwama district of Kashmir. This is the second attack today.

Addressing the bomb blasts during his earlier rally in the state, Modi says people may be opposed to him and the party, but why did the target innocent civilians. After Paswan's LJP, many more parties will join the NDA, says Modi. After Paswan's LJP, many more parties will join the NDA, says Modi.

"Today's rally is for our rights, for change, for development. We have to get rid of vote bank politics," he says.

He also thanks Ram Vilas Paswan and Chirag Paswan for aligning with the NDA. "After Paswan's LJP, many more parties will join the NDA," he says.

13:46Live! LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan shares stage at Modi rally: Paswan says Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad suddenly find him to be a villain. "We are here to wipe the tears of the poor," he said. "I appeal to the people to break the barriers of caste, creed and religion for development," says Paswan.

The way the BJP maintains relationships with its alliances, nobody else does, he adds.

The Board of Inquiry instituted by the Defence Ministry began investigations. The committee, headed by an officer of the rank of Rear Admiral, has been asked to investigate not just the fire on Sindhuratna but also earlier incidents. The panel will look into the two incidents concerning submarines.

13:15People of Jammu and Kashmir are 'mahachor', says Farooq: Union minister Farooq Abdullah has angered political parties in Jammu and Kashmir by reportedly describing the people of the state as "mahachors (biggest thieves)" of electricity.The state opposition today shouted slogans in the assembly and demanded an apology from Abdullah, leader of the ruling National Conference and father of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Read more

13:00Bank built for women blooms in India: While the government launched the country's first state-owned bank for women just a few months ago, in Maharashtra, women have had their own bank for more than a decade. Chetna Gala Sinha founded Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank -- India's first rural cooperative bank for women -- back in 1997. Read

12:47Sindhuratna and beyond :
Submarining has always been a dangerous profession, meant only for volunteers drawn from serving navy personnel. It is also a relatively young man's profession, with commanding officers of conventional submarines going "over the top' in their late thirties, into staff jobs.

The selection is strict and the training rigorous. New entrants are carefully screened in psychological tests to survive in close proximity, under difficult conditions, with other human beings, for long periods of time.

Not surprisingly, the camaraderie is close and submariners make friends for life. Read

PS. The author Raja Menon is a retired Rear Admiral and is married to painter Anlolie Ela Menon.

The picture received a whopping 1,575,545 retweets and 747,963 favorites in nearly 2 hours of Ellen's posting the picture and broke a record set by President Barack Obama with the picture of him hugging First Lady Michelle Obama after his re-election in 2012.

12:29HOT Oscar fashion: The biggest Hollywood stars descended on the red carpet for the 86th Annual Academy Awards with million dollar baubles and to-die-for gowns. Have a look and vote who wore it best. See

11:58Uneasy vibes between Antony and forces : Defence minister AK Antony has so antagonised the armed forces during his tenure that the top brass in all three services -- the army, navy and the air force -- are wondering how they might strike an equation with him.

So far, in Antony's tenure with just weeks before he demits office, a navy chief has resigned, an army chief famously challenged his own government in the Supreme Court and a former air force chief is being investigated for having allegedly accepted kickbacks in the VVIP chopper scam. Read

11:55Suicide attack on court in Islamabad leave 11 dead, 24 wounded:
At least 11 people have died in an attack on a district court complex in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, officials say.Gunmen burst into the complex and opened fire before at least two suicide bombers detonated their explosives, police said.

A judge and several lawyers are reported to be among those killed. At least 24 people were wounded. No group has so far said it carried out the attack.The area has been cordoned off and local schools evacuated.

11:47Wargames end, minus mishap: The navy on Friday completed a month-long annual readiness exercise involving most of its battle-worthy warships, all but 10 of which are more than 14 years old, navy sources said here today.

The Tropex (theatre level operational readiness exercise) is held every year but the scale this time was larger than any in the past. A total of 60 platforms, including submarines, and 75 aircraft were operated without mishap. Read

11:33Pistorius trial opens today : The trial of athlete Oscar Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp is to open in the South African city of Pretoria.

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, 29, a model and reality TV star, at his home in Pretoria on 14 February 2013.

State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but he claims he mistook her for an intruder. Read

11:22Another scam hits defence ministry, Antony orders CBI probe: The country's defence establishment has been hit by what seems to be another major scandal, forcing the government to order a CBI probe into allegations that global engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce committed irregularities and violated contractual provisions to bag contracts worth over Rs 10,000 crore from 2007 to 2011. Read

11:15Congress mum, RJD may fight all 40 seats: To bring you up to speed on what's happening in pre-poll India, on Sunday, as the Congress failed to respond to RJD chief's offer of 11 seats by the deadline of 3pm, Lalu Prasad took a tough stand and asked his party leaders and workers to make preparations to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha polls from all 40 seats in Bihar. Read

Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who was scheduled to record the statements of the accused today, posted it for April 4, saying "only half of the work is over" as preparing questions to be asked from the accused was a lengthy process.

The judge, however, said he would give sets of questions to the accused on April 4 so that they could file their written response within a week.

11:10PM leaves for Myanmar for BIMSTEC summit: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for Myanmar today to attend the BIMSTEC Summit, making a strong push for intensifying collective efforts to combat security challenges and enhancing connectivity and trade in the region.

"Security challenges both natural and man-made, require our collective vision and determination to be overcome," Singh said in a statement before his departure for the Myanmarese capital, Nay Pyi-Taw.

10:53'Modi wave' creation of media: Arvind Kejriwal: Former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the so-called 'Modi wave' was a creation of the media and opinion polls that were in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate were paid for.

"You people keep talking about the development in Gujarat. How do you know that it is true, that media is right? Therefore, I am going away to Gujarat to check out the development there,' said Kejriwal, while addressing a rally in Kanpur.

"The Modi wave is a creation of the media; it's a wave on the television. I have been to 17 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, and I saw no wave in favour of Modi there,' he said.

"Paid opinion polls are projecting a win for Narendra Modi. He still hasn't replied to my letter, how will he answer people''s questions? In fact, he hasn''t even acknowledged the receipt of my letter,' he added.